Saturday, January 29, 2011

Hope you are having a great weekend! Here are a few things I discovered this week that are special enough to share.

As you know, health and fitness have been on my brain, lately, so I was intrigued when I ran across this post by Beth of The Stories of A to Z. Beth asked her blog readers for their tried-and-true weight loss and fitness tips, and then compiled their top answers into a nice, easy-to-see chart. Thanks for sharing, Beth!

And, as long as you are on Beth's blog, you'd better take a look at these sweet Valentine mantels that she featured. Not only are they great eye candy, but they might inspire you to come up with your own nifty, new decorations for the upcoming holiday.

Okay, this next link is hilarious. If you've ever wondered how all the home and family bloggers out there can possibly keep up with all their kids, crafting, decorating, home improvement, thrift shopping, blogging, AND have a perfect house, then this one is for you. The truthful answer? Apparently, they can't! Who knew? I'm not the only one who lets things get messy. Over at Decor Chick, Emily asked her readers to submit real-life pictures of what wasn't perfectly clean or perfectly decorated in their homes. And they actually did! The pictures are hilarious and extremely comforting. It seems most of us have places in our homes we hope no one will ever see. You can see everyone else's here, at Emily's "Real Homes, Real Messes."

I'm not sure how I stumbled across this next link. All I know, is that I was searching for a brownie recipe (Bionic Man was in the mood for baking), and suddenly this mouth-watering picture of a bowl of soup came on my screen. The image came from Katie of The 30 Girl, and was a picture of her recipe for tortellini soup. It looks amazing, and the recipe seems pretty simple. I need to make this on my next diet day off. The rest of Katie's blog looks fun to explore, too!

At our house, we've started planning a trip to warmer climes for spring break. Lucky for me, one of my old friends, Kim, has started a great site all about budget travel! At Budget Travel Tricks, Kim shares her tips for getting your family out and about for less. Herself a mom of two and seasoned traveler, Kim's advice is road tested and reliable. And when she says "budget", Kim isn't kidding. As she says on her About Page, While paying cash for cars, trucks, a law degree and an MBA, buying two homes and having two kids we have also managed to fly 70,000 miles, visit 27 states and 5 countries all on a budget.Wow! (Kim, I'm just remembering--remember our Conference Tour of '98? It was the first time we ever made hotel reservations. Good times!)

For now, enjoy your travels to these fun links. Hopefully, you'll find something special along the way for you, too.

The Quote that Really Inspires Me:

"You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter. "What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside. "If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Happiness, Your Heritage"